# 122
---
“Where on earth have you been all this time? No, what about that luggage bag...”
Tice, who found me and ran towards me, was panting and prodding me.
Then when he saw the luggage bag as big as my body, he made a silly expression.
Suddenly my toes curled and I felt embarrassed.
'. …It's like an immature child who gave up and came back a few hours after running away from home.'
He couldn't even leave the house and ended up wandering nearby and ended up having a try.
“Tas, get out of my way.”
At that time, I heard a gloomy sound that gave me goosebumps.
Tice seemed to have a lot to say, but like a loyal knight, he immediately stepped aside at his master's command.
“Raise your head.”
When I looked at the ground again and wiggled my fingers, my body stiffened when I heard the Duke's cold voice.
This was the first time I felt afraid since I met the peacock in the orphanage.
But I wasn't afraid he would hurt me like before.
'. …I'm afraid you're disappointed in me.'
I was afraid they wouldn't look at me kindly anymore.
I dropped my fear and raised my head. I became even more dizzy when I saw it before my eyes.
Honestly, the Duchess, Aline and Diana.
I kind of expected Jack to be there.
However, I had no idea that the Archduke, his wife, Askart, and Bianca would be there.
The Archduke's face was particularly frightening.
'How angry are you? ….’
A person who exudes a warm aura like sunlight exudes such fierce energy that it seems as if he is on fire.
The Archduke, whose face looked as if it were about to explode, did not take his eyes off me for a moment.
Under that constant gaze, my body began to tremble without me knowing it.
then.
"Yes . … ".
“Let's go inside first.”
As soon as the Archduke, who was speechless, was able to take a step towards me, the Duke blocked me in the middle and blocked me.
Now that I can't see the people from the Archduke's family who a short while ago were hoping to catch a glimpse of me or even a trace of the hem of my clothes, I naturally feel more comfortable breathing.
said the Duchess as she took the luggage bag from my hand.
“Is that so, come in and tell us what happened?”
The Duchess's hand led me into the palace.
However, the back of my head was so sore from the Archduke's gaze following me that I was unable to raise my head.
Diana, who couldn't come to me because Allen was holding her the whole time, took my hand and asked.
“Noona, you didn’t leave Diana behind, did you?”
“You lied, didn't you?”
I couldn't answer Diana's question because her eyes became glassy.
“Where on earth have you been and what have you done?”
“Your face is frozen.”
Allen and Jack, who were grumbling next to him, seemed worried about me as well.
The kids didn't seem to know the details, so the tension seemed to ease a little.
But that was only for a moment, and when we entered the drawing room, the atmosphere became tense again.
The Duke asked the butler to bite all the servants and then spoke.
“Tassie, you should go and get some rest.”
“...Ha, Leia is like a benefactor to me, if you allow me, I would like to be here.”
As Tice spoke, Jack also stood beside him and straightened his back as if he wasn't going to leave.
When I saw the Duke furrowing his eyebrows, my patience ran out.
Tice said he would return the favor one day, and he did what he said, even in situations that clearly seemed like they were going to be difficult. But I didn't want to drag him into that.
“Why don't you leave me alone.”
At that time, unexpectedly, the Archduchess stopped the Duke.
“Everyone seems to care about this child to some degree, but everyone needs to know what happened.”
The Duke frowned at her sarcastic tone.
“Stella, what’s wrong with you suddenly barging in?”
"Are you saying I'm the problem now? She just came back and we don't even know what happened?"
It was time for me to forget my nervousness and look in amazement as the two people seemed to be closer to each other than expected.
Before I knew it, the Archduke was approaching me.
Pale-skinned, he knelt down on one knee and made eye contact with me.
“Oh, my dear... you....”
“I heard you told her that you were my daughter, Adriana... Is that true?”
Archduke Belos looked like someone who had great difficulty pronouncing his words, and he managed to speak while opening his mouth several times.
When he finished speaking, an eerie silence fell over the living room.
I was breathing hard.
I wanted to run away immediately.
But the Archduchess was right.
Everyone was looking for me in the cold, snowy weather up until this hour.
Even though everyone thought I was crazy, the people who cared about me needed to know what was happening.
“Yes, I said that.”
As I nodded my head in the affirmative, I heard a sniffling sound here and there.
“Leah, did you really say that?”
Askart asked with a puzzled face.
I smiled bitterly when I saw his eyes widen in disbelief.
The Archduke looked at Askart as if to tell him to be quiet, then looked at me again.
"Show."
“Yes, I did, no matter how much I think about it, I feel like the Archduke’s lost daughter.”
“The reason...may I ask? They said there was some kind of necklace.”
Fortunately, the Archduke seems to be the type who doesn't get angry easily.
I thought he would be as angry as the Archduchess, but he calmly asked me why.
I swallowed dryly and said.
“F—in….Actually, I thought it was symbolic, but I was wrong, can you see the necklace I’m wearing?”
“No, I don't see anything like that.”
“So what color do you think my hair and eyes are?”
“It… looks brown.”
“As expected...”
Although it was an answer I was actually expecting, I felt a little depressed.
“Dear, can you explain in more detail?”
At this time, the Archduke was calm, and his expression was as mysterious as mine.
I spoke, barely suppressing the feeling that my heart was going to explode out of my mouth as I revealed a secret for the first time in my life.
"mirror."
"mirror?"
“Yes, actually, everyone said I have brown hair and brown eyes, but the way I see myf is different, I’m in the mirror… with light pink hair and dark pink eyes, just like Her Highness the Archduchess.”
The Archduke was then seen taking a deep breath and stiffening.
then.
“How much longer do we have to listen to this nonsense? Can’t you tell just by looking at me like that?”
The Archduchess took a nervous step forward.
“I don’t know where I picked up the words, but you’re trying to pretend to be my daughter by saying things that are clearly lies...”
"my lady !"
“It's not a lie!”
The Grand Duke and Diana shouted at the same time and cut the Grand Duchess's waist.
The Duchess, who had been frozen in shock until now, held out her hand in bewilderment at Diana's sudden intervention.
However, Diana ran away from the Duchess who was trying to catch me and hugged me while crying.
“Noona, she didn’t lie, she has pink hair, she has pink eyes...”
While the little girl was moaning, I tried to suppress my sadness and smiled brightly.
Then, looking at the frozen Archduke and Duchess, he spoke slowly.
“I have also lived my life thinking that I am strange, my eyes are strange but she also said that I look like Her Highness the Archduchess, so..so...”
Tears fell down the smile she worked so hard to put on.
“Hah, Noona, don’t cry, I will scold her, I hate you! I don’t even want you to be Noona’s mother!”
As she began to cry, Diana's sobs became more intense.
The Duke, who was observing the situation, seemed to think it was impossible and ordered Tice.
“Hurry up and get the kids out.”
Tice looked at me and bit his lip, as if he was worried I would be left alone.
My face was covered in tears, but I smiled and nodded as if I was okay.
Eventually, Taiz left the reception hall with Diana, who was trying not to leave me, and Allen and Jack, who were standing around aimlessly.
The door closed and I slowly looked around at the people with surprised faces.
'None of these people will believe me.
Well, at best, they're just a child's words, and it's impossible to believe them when there's no evidence...
I felt sorry and upset that Diana was the only one who got into trouble because of me, so I cried.
But since the water had already spilled, she continued speaking eagerly.
“I wasn't trying to escape... I was trying to go to the temple, I'm afraid the Duke's family will be in trouble because of me, so no one will know, so something... When you find out... I have to come back....”
I wanted to speak clearly, but it was difficult to speak clearly because of the intense sadness.
It was so painful to wonder why this happened to me.
“Darling, don’t cry, I feel like my heart is breaking when you cry.”
At that, I opened my eyes wide in surprise at the warm touch that touched the corner of my eye.
When I looked up, the Archduke's face was covered in tears, just like mine.
I forgot how much I was crying, I asked, looking at the transparent stream of water flowing down the Archduke's cheek.
“Archduke, why are you crying?”
Speak with a smile instead of crying.
“I do it because I'm happy.”
". … are you happy?"
“Yes, my dear, I told everyone that I would definitely find my daughter, but in reality...I wished that I could meet you at least once before I died, and I sometimes thought that it would be good if we couldn't meet each other, so I just wished that he would live in a safe place and have a good time.”
Tears continued to flow down my cheeks, as I saw eyes full of remorse and a voice full of tears.
The Archduke said, wiping my tears with his fingers.
“But..but, my dear, I can’t believe you came here first...”